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Post by SakiBomb25 on Dec 18, 2006 0:01:17 GMT -5
Losing Dani Mancuso won't be as big of a deal just because if Houghtelling was healthy this year, she would have played and Mancuso would have sat. Next year, Houghtelling will step right into Mancuso's spot without missing a beat.
As for Janet Okogbaa of Stanford, I hope that Dunning decides to move her back into the middle. Waller has solidified herself on the right side and should stay there. We will be very thin in the middle with Suiter and Mellard graduating and I would really like to see Okogbaa in the middle for her final years to compensate for the impending graduations of Franic Girard and Foluke Akinradewo. She played on the US Junior National Team as a middle, backing up Alexis Crimes and Foluke Akinradewo back in 2004.
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Post by cbrown1709 on Dec 18, 2006 0:10:47 GMT -5
1. Nebraska 2. Stanford 3. Penn State 4. Texas 5. Florida (if they play to their potential)
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Post by OverAndUnder on Dec 18, 2006 12:58:09 GMT -5
How about Utah? Anyone think they can sneak in the top 5? I think USC has potential to ranked highly. There libero doesn't need to be that good considering Carico only sets the outsides anyway! Utah returns all starters. They will be good. I would guess a preseason ranking between 10-15, but they should probably be higher. I want Utah to stay in the spotlight just so I can hear Mary talk about them on her show. Hearing her nasally flat-ended "Yootaah" cracks me up every time.
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Post by SaltNPepper on Dec 18, 2006 13:10:07 GMT -5
Nebraska went on an off season overseas training trip in both 2000 and 2006 and ended up with a NC both times. Obviously, that wasn't the whole answer, but I think it does help a lot, extra training time together, better bonding/team chemistry, etc.
Just wondering which top 20 teams that return a lot of starters have a trip planned for next spring/summer?
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Post by BearClause on Dec 18, 2006 13:18:13 GMT -5
Nebraska went on an off season overseas training trip in both 2000 and 2006 and ended up with a NC both times. Obviously, that wasn't the whole answer, but I think it does help a lot, extra training time together, better bonding/team chemistry, etc. Just wondering which top 20 teams that return a lot of starters have a trip planned for next spring/summer? The "foreign tour" is only allowed once every four years.
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Post by roofed! on Dec 18, 2006 13:19:12 GMT -5
Nebraska went on an off season overseas training trip in both 2000 and 2006 and ended up with a NC both times. Obviously, that wasn't the whole answer, but I think it does help a lot, extra training time together, better bonding/team chemistry, etc. Just wondering which top 20 teams that return a lot of starters have a trip planned for next spring/summer? All the 4 FF teams went away on overseas training trips this summer. Clearly this have had an impact especially the team trained together in the summer and had a great start on other teams in preseason training. I, for one, hope that Haley has some plans for an overseas trip for the team since he has the core of the team back for next season, and their last trip was 2003 to P.R.
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Post by silversurfer on Dec 18, 2006 14:14:24 GMT -5
Why in the world would Florida change setters?
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Post by GatorVball on Dec 18, 2006 14:54:08 GMT -5
Why in the world would Florida change setters? Wondered the same thing in 2004 when Moscovic returned as a senior, who had set her team to the national championship match the year prior and a final 4 the year before that. Florida won't change setters in 07. Just some of us haven't forgotten the unfair way Lauren was treated her senior year and it would be some kind of karma if Angie lost her job her senior year to a less experienced setter.
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Post by saywho on Dec 18, 2006 16:42:20 GMT -5
Losing Dani Mancuso won't be as big of a deal just because if Houghtelling was healthy this year, she would have played and Mancuso would have sat. Next year, Houghtelling will step right into Mancuso's spot without missing a beat. As for Janet Okogbaa of Stanford, I hope that Dunning decides to move her back into the middle. Waller has solidified herself on the right side and should stay there. We will be very thin in the middle with Suiter and Mellard graduating and I would really like to see Okogbaa in the middle for her final years to compensate for the impending graduations of Franic Girard and Foluke Akinradewo. She played on the US Junior National Team as a middle, backing up Alexis Crimes and Foluke Akinradewo back in 2004. I'm not quite sure I see Okagbaa in the middle. She may not have the speed to be there. I have not seen her take swings from the middle, so I cannot tell. However, with her windmill armswing, I just don't see her being able to run a slide or a quick set of any kind. We'll see
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Post by silversurfer on Dec 18, 2006 16:53:19 GMT -5
Losing Dani Mancuso won't be as big of a deal just because if Houghtelling was healthy this year, she would have played and Mancuso would have sat. Next year, Houghtelling will step right into Mancuso's spot without missing a beat. As for Janet Okogbaa of Stanford, I hope that Dunning decides to move her back into the middle. Waller has solidified herself on the right side and should stay there. We will be very thin in the middle with Suiter and Mellard graduating and I would really like to see Okogbaa in the middle for her final years to compensate for the impending graduations of Franic Girard and Foluke Akinradewo. She played on the US Junior National Team as a middle, backing up Alexis Crimes and Foluke Akinradewo back in 2004. I'm not quite sure I see Okagbaa in the middle. She may not have the speed to be there. I have not seen her take swings from the middle, so I cannot tell. However, with her windmill armswing, I just don't see her being able to run a slide or a quick set of any kind. We'll see I agree that the middle isn't the place for Okogbaa, and would probably take a while to train her for that spot. Cardinal has Browne coming in for the middle, right?
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Post by beachman on Dec 18, 2006 16:59:23 GMT -5
1. Nebraska 2. Stanford 3. Penn State 4. Texas 5. Florida (if they play to their potential) You hit next year's top 5 in the head! Anyone who thinks that U$C is a top 5 next year is nuts! UCLA will be better than U$C next year but not top 5.....Washington will also drop from the top 5!
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Post by bigfan on Dec 18, 2006 17:24:56 GMT -5
1. Nebraska 2. Stanford 3. Penn State 4. Texas 5. Florida (if they play to their potential) You hit next year's top 5 in the head! Anyone who thinks that U$C is a top 5 next year is nuts! UCLA will be better than U$C next year but not top 5.....Washington will also drop from the top 5! Mick has another Stellar recruitng class coming in with Kaczor and co. returning......you will be surprised.....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2006 17:27:00 GMT -5
I'd like to see if the MWC can challenge -- Utah, specifically. Maybe not the top 5. But right there, pushing them.
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Post by southfloridafan on Dec 18, 2006 17:31:17 GMT -5
Losing Dani Mancuso won't be as big of a deal just because if Houghtelling was healthy this year, she would have played and Mancuso would have sat. Next year, Houghtelling will step right into Mancuso's spot without missing a beat. As for Janet Okogbaa of Stanford, I hope that Dunning decides to move her back into the middle. Waller has solidified herself on the right side and should stay there. We will be very thin in the middle with Suiter and Mellard graduating and I would really like to see Okogbaa in the middle for her final years to compensate for the impending graduations of Franic Girard and Foluke Akinradewo. She played on the US Junior National Team as a middle, backing up Alexis Crimes and Foluke Akinradewo back in 2004. I'm not quite sure I see Okagbaa in the middle. She may not have the speed to be there. I have not seen her take swings from the middle, so I cannot tell. However, with her windmill armswing, I just don't see her being able to run a slide or a quick set of any kind. We'll see From having seen Okogbaa play all three front row positions in high school and club, I would say that middle blocker is probably her least natural attacking position. I feel that she is most comfortable and effective when attacking from the left or right sides. Her blocking ability makes her a natural choice to play on the right side, but Waller seems to have cemented her place at that position. At the moment, Okogbaa's passing skills will prevent her from playing in the back row any time soon, so I doubt that she will see much action on the left side as long as Barboza and Klineman are there. Her best bet for playing time will probably be on the right side, if Stanford switches to a 6-2 offense after Kehoe graduates, with Evans and Lichtman (or perhaps an '08 recruit) setting. I don't mean to disappoint you Stanford fans, but I think you might be expecting too much of Okogbaa in the future. Yes, she is an incredibly gifted athlete, but I'm not sure how much of a desire she has for individual success at the collegiate volleyball level. Academics was the number one reason she chose to attend Stanford (volleyball is more like a hobby that helps her get a free education there- she even considered schools like Harvard and MIT). I could be wrong, but I feel that volleyball is a secondary priority for her, and I don't think she has plans for a volleyball career after college.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2006 17:34:27 GMT -5
How is Okogbaa pronounced?
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